Visitor
by Amanda Carlsson
Summary: Alice has a vision of Bella dying and it makes her rush back to Forks. This is chapet 17 from New Moon, "Visitor", told from Alices' Point of view.


AN: ***Don't read this if you haven't read New Moon and don't want to be spoiled.***

This is my first Twilight fanfic. I wrote it for something fun to do. Alice is my favoruite Twilight character so I knew it would be from her POV and I was reading through my favourite parts of New Moon I found the perfect episode to try this out on. So this is the part of New Moon when Alice returns after having the vision of Bella jumping of a cliff. In the timeline of the book this would take place between pages 370-391.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters and the conversation in this fanfic belongs to Stephenie Meyer and her brilliant mind.

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**Visitor**

"What was she thinking? Why?" I was speeding down the familiar streets, everything outside the tinted windows were a dark blur in the night as I pushed the engine to its furthest. I knew it didn't matter how fast I was driving, I was already too late. It was out of my hands, out of my control, but I wasn't going to do nothing. This conviction kept the dial on the dashboard pointing left.

I came to a stop outside the dark and empty house. Silence filled the air as I cut the engine. I could tell the house was empty for the reason that it had no pulse. Had the knowledge of Bella's fate reached her father, or was he perhaps out looking for her since she hadn't made it home yet?

Seeing the empty house suddenly gave my rash decision to jump the gun some gratifying worth. Charlie had been left alone—I had come here for Charlie.

I made my way into the house through Bella's bedroom window. The wonderful scent made my throat erupt in flames with the first breath I took inside her room. For a fraction of a second the strong feeling of thirst washed over me, but the burning quickly turned into something else. It felt like a lump of coal had been left in my throat by the fire—it was grief. A tremendous sense of loss rushed trough me, as if for that moment my body wasn't frozen in time because I had _something _pulsing through my veins. The familiar scent of Bella was everywhere, and I realized that this was probably the closest I'd ever get to her again.

"Why, Bella?" it was only a whisper.

I descended the stairs quickly and without a sound, my eyes were kept closed the whole way. Still deep in concentration I sat down on the living room couch, _Come on! _my head demanded itself, but I knew it was pointless. I let out a sigh which made the lump of coal sizzle in my throat. Alright, I'd just have to wait.

It wasn't long before I heard the sound of a familiar engine coming up the otherwise quiet street. I jerked my head up in surprise. This was new, when was I ever taken by surprise? The thought brought a crease to my forehead. The car came to a halt right outside the house. Silence filled the air once more as the engine was cut. I knew exactly whose car that was. Did this mean that Charlie had found her? I got up and walked into the hallway. I paused and listened. It was quite, but I could clearly hear two hearts beating outside. I immediately regretted being here. I'd been mistaken. Of course Charlie wouldn't be alone. He had other friends in his life, friends that hadn't just left without as much as a word, and of course those friends would be here for him through something like this. But my thoughts were silenced as I heard the engine rev up again. Someone stepped on the gas and the force of it made the tires screech against the asphalt. I listened to the sound of the truck I knew too well disappear quickly down the same street it had come just moments earlier. Confusion set in. What was going on? But before I could even start to think of an answer I heard the loud scream of the breaks as someone slammed down on them. The truck had come to a halt. I listened intently and the crease in my forehead deepened as I heard the two people talking. No, not talking, it sounded more like arguing. A car door opened and the voices stopped. The truck was still running but I noticed as the sounds from outside turned more quite still. The beating duo had turned to a solo; someone had left.

I didn't know what to make of this, I knew Charlie wouldn't be the one leaving, but why would anyone argue with Charlie at a time like this? Maybe, it wasn't Charlie? That seemed most likely, given what I've just heard, but who then was sitting alone in Bella's old truck? As the thoughts raced through my brain I could hear the sound of the engine drawing closer and once more stopping outside the house. I shook my head as to clear it from all the confusion. I stood frozen in place and waited.

The doorknob turned quietly and the door fell open into the dark hallway. The fire in my throat erupted again, even more fiercely than before. I knew the figure in the doorway before I laid my dark eyes on it. It was the figure from my vision, but this wasn't a vision, this was real, the burning in my throat told me that. So how was this possible? I flicked on the light, almost expecting the figure to be something different when I did so, proving my senses wrong. But my senses weren't wrong. The blinking figure in front of me was the one I loved and cared for, the one I thought I'd never see again.

I had no time to react before Bella hurled herself at me.

"Alice, oh, Alice!" she cried as her soft, warm body slammed into my hard, cold one.

"Bella?" it was all I could muster in my confusion, but as I spoke her name I could feel myself relax slightly, Bella was really here. The lump in my throat dissolved.

She locked her arms tight around me and I could feel the heat radiating from her. She buried her nose in my neck and inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with my scent. Having her so close made the burning in my throat intensify; but there was something off, she didn't smell as good as I remembered—as good as her bed room. There was something different; a new scent that made my nose wrinkle.

I noticed her breathing changing character from the deep breaths to frantic sobs. I dragged her with me into the living room and cradled her in my lap as I sat us both down on the small couch. Her warmth that was usually pleasant put a strain on my mind. I shouldn't let myself go so long without hunting.

I rubbed my hand in circles on her back, trying to soothe her sobs with the gentle rhythm. The calming gesture wasn't only for her benefit.

"I'm… sorry," she blubbered. "I'm just… so happy… to see you!"

"It's okay, Bella. Everything's okay." It wasn't until I heard myself speak the words that I realized that everything in fact was okay. She hadn't killed herself; she was still here.

"Yes," she bawled, and I could feel her relax further into my arms. I leaned my head back as far as possible in a position that could only be described as awkward. Her scent wasn't doing anything good for my burning thirst, even if it wasn't as good as I was used to, she was still appetizing. I sighed, "I'd forgotten how exuberant you are," my voice was disapproving. I pressed my lips together in an effort to close out the scent. The sound of my tone made Bella look up at my face through her teary eyes. She studied me and when she saw my dark eyes she understood what I'd meant.

"Oh. Sorry," she puffed.

"It's my own fault. It's been too long since I hunted. I shouldn't let myself get so thirsty. But I was in a hurry today," I glared at her as I said the last part. She had some explaining to do. "Speaking of which, would you like to explain to me how you're alive?"

This stopped her sobs and comprehension dawned on her face. She understood what I must have seen.

She swallowed loudly, "You saw me fall," it wasn't a question. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"No. I saw you _jump_," I corrected her. I'd been right in thinking leaving would do more harm than good. She was jumping of off cliffs! I shook my head.

"I told him this would happen, but he didn't believe me. 'Bella promised,'" I imitated Edward's voice. I could feel that the sound made Bella freeze, but I continued. "'Don't be looking for her future, either. We've done enough damage.'

But just because I'm not looking, doesn't mean I don't _see_," I told her, almost pleadingly. "I wasn't keeping tabs on you, I swear, Bella. It's just that I'm already attuned to you… when I saw you jumping, I didn't think, I just got on a plane. I knew I would be too late, but I couldn't do _nothing_. And then I get here, thinking maybe I could help Charlie somehow, and you drive up," I shuck my head. This part still confused me; I hadn't been able to see her. Why was that and how was it that she was still here? I spoke with a strained voice as I remembered my vision. "I saw you go into the water and I waited and waited for you to come up, but you didn't. What happened? And how could you do that to Charlie? Did you stop to think what this would do to him? And my brother? Do you have _any_ idea what Edward—" she broke me off before I could finish what I was saying.

"Alice, I wasn't committing suicide," she sounded sincere but I knew what I had seen.

"Are you saying you didn't jump off a cliff?" I asked her dubiously.

"No, but…" she grimaced as she thought through her answer, "It was for recreational purposes only."

My face didn't change and the expression she saw in it made her continue.

"I'd seen some of Jacob's friends cliff diving. It looked like… fun, and I was bored…"

I waited.

"I didn't think about how the storm would affect the currents. Actually, I didn't think about the water much at all."

I didn't buy her explanation; I still believed she had jumped off the cliff for a different reason.

Bella noticed this so she took a new direction. "So if you saw me go in, how come you didn't see Jacob?"

There hadn't been anyone with her. I cocked my head to the side. At least, I hadn't seen anyone else, just Bella.

She continued. "It's true that I probably would have drowned if Jacob hadn't jumped in after me. Well, okay, there's no probably about it. But he did, and he pulled me out, and I guess he towed me back to shore, though I was kind of out for that part. It couldn't have been more than a minute that I was under before he grabbed me. How come you didn't see that?"

What did this mean? I knew what I had seen; it was perfectly clear in my memory-Bella, standing alone on the top of a cliff, the strong wind tugging at her hair, almost as if trying to pull her back from the ledge. It had had no effect. She had flung herself determinately into the arms of the crashing waves. Horrified, I had watched as she disappeared into the darkness, I had waited anxiously for her to resurface again, but she never did. She was lost from my view. Lost, but not really gone… And there were more, more things I hadn't seen. I hadn't seen this Jacob character; I hadn't seen him drag her out from the darkness. In fact, to me, Bella had remained in darkness up until she'd walked through the doors of this house. I saw the connection; I just didn't know what to make of it.

I leaned down to sniff Bella's shoulder. The scent wasn't right, it stung my nose; this wasn't the scent of Bella. I could feel her tense up.

"Don't be ridiculous." I muttered at her and I inhaled the weird scent again, over and over, trying to place it.

"What are you doing?"

I ignored her, I wondered… "Who was with you out there just now? It sounded like you were arguing."

"Jacob Black. He's… sort of my best friend, I guess. At least, he was…" she drifted off.

I nodded; this didn't clarify much, only why he'd saved her.

"What?"

"I don't know," I told her. "I still don't know what it means."

"Well, I'm not dead, at least."

I rolled my eyes at her attempt to ease the seriousness from the conversation. "He was a fool to think you could survive alone. I've never seen anyone so prone to life-threatening idiocy."

"I survived," she pointed out.

Yes, fortunately. I thought of the reason for that. She'd been very lucky that her friend had been there to save her. The water had been overpowering. This thought brought on a new question.

"So, if the currents were too much for you, how did this Jacob manage?"

"Jacob is… strong,"

I could hear the hesitation in her voice as she said this and I knew there was more to it. I raised my eyebrows in response. She chewed on her lip absentmindedly before she continued.

"See, well, he's… sort of a werewolf," she was speaking the words very fast, as if the meaning of them would be less significant if she did. "The Quileutes turn into wolves when there are vampires around. They know Carlisle from a long time ago. Were you with Carlisle back then?"

All I could do was to stare at her. I'd heard her speak the words loud and clear but I wasn't prepared for them. At least this answered some of my questions. I blinked rapidly trying to recover myself from the initial shock brought on by her words.

"Well, I guess that explains the smell," my voice was absent, echoing the state of my mind, "But does it explain what I didn't see?" my forehead creased as I thought about what I'd just been told and how it could have anything to do with all the things I couldn't answer by myself.

"The smell?" Bella repeated.

"You smell awful," my mind was still elsewhere as I answered her. I was trying to fit all the pieces together, but some were still missing because I kept coming up short. "A werewolf? Are you sure about that?"

"Very sure," she sounded as if she wished she wasn't. "I guess you weren't with Carlisle the last time there were werewolves here in Forks?"

I hadn't been, "No. I hadn't found him yet." I wished I had because then maybe I would know enough to be able to answer the gnawing questions that clouded my mind. All I really knew about werewolves were that they were wild creatures, something to stay away from. Even my senses told me that, I wrinkled my nose. My mind took a halt and I snapped my head to look at Bella with wide eyes, realization setting in. "Your best friend is a werewolf?"

She gave me a shy nod.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Not long. He's only been a werewolf for just a few weeks," her voice had taken on a defensive note. She understood what I thought of this and even though I recognized her response as an attempt to undermine my reaction it had an opposite effect. I glowered at her. "A _young_ werewolf? Even worse! Edward was right—you're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out of trouble?"

"There's nothing wrong with werewolves," she protested, obviously hurt by my reaction. It didn't do much to slow me down.

"Until they lose their tempers," the sharp movements even made my short hair dance around my head as I shook it from side to side. "Leave it to you, Bella. Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you have to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find."

It was Bella's turn to shake her head. "No, Alice, the vampires didn't really leave—not all of them, anyway. If it weren't for the werewolves, Victoria would have gotten me by now. Well, if it weren't for Jake and his friends, Laurent would have gotten me before she could, I guess, so--"

The mentioning of Victoria and Laurent brought on a strong feeling of hatred. I could feel my muscles flexing. The sound that escaped my lips as I cut her off was a dark hiss. "Victoria? Laurent?" I saw red and I felt like a bull, ready to charge.

Bella nodded her head carefully, seeming a bit worried by the look on my face. She pointed her fragile finger at her chest. "Danger magnet, remember?"

I had to shake my head to rid it of the sudden tempered emotions. Clearly, a lot of things had happened since we'd left. She would have to fill me in if I were to understand it all. "Tell me everything—start at the beginning."

She told me how our abrupt departure had affected her; the tormenting mourning she'd gone through for the loss of the family she'd dreamed of belonging to. She didn't actually tell me this, but it was marked in her words and in her face; there was no need for her to say it out loud, it was clear for me to read.

She told me about Jacob and I noticed a change as she talked about him. Her voice took on a different melody and I was surprised by the gratitude I felt towards her werewolf friend.

She went on about Victoria and the flame she'd seen out in the water after Jacob had pulled her out. Her theory on what it might have been made some of the red return before my eyes and I narrowed them in anger. She fell quiet after telling me about the passing of her father's friend and I could see the hurt return to her face.

I hadn't spoken a word while she told me about the things that had happened since my last time in Forks. I expected Victoria would be the submerged part of the iceberg that represented Bella's troubles. I now understood that she was just the tip of it. The anger I'd first felt in response to the mentioning of Victoria and Laurent was diminished by the remorse seeping through me for all the pain and heartbreak we had caused her—we were the bigger part of Bella's iceberg; the part she kept below the surface, at least trying to.

"Our leaving didn't do you any good at all, did it?"

She let out a single humorless laugh, "That was never the point, though, was it? It's not like you left for my benefit."

That had actually been the reason, or so Edward had meant for it to be. I remembered the promise I'd given my brother, that Bella deserved a life without vampires. I wasn't one to go back on my word, but neither was I one to do nothing when life called for me to do _something_. But I'd been wrong, I wasn't needed, there'd been no reason for me to come here and break my promise.

"Well… I guess I acted impulsively today. I probably shouldn't have intruded." My eyes were on the floor but my vampire senses still noticed the little color in Bella's face disappear.

"Don't go, Alice," she whispered and her hands locked around the collar of my shirt. She started to hyperventilate. "Please don't leave me."

Oh, no, I had done it again. Hurting her was the last thing I wanted to do, that's why I regretted coming in the first place, because I knew I couldn't stay forever; I would have to leave her again at some point.

But not right now. I was already here, the promise was already broken. Leaving now wouldn't fix that; on the contrary, it would only do more damage. I spoke the words carefully, with clarity and reassurance.

"All right. I'm not going anywhere tonight. Take a deep breath."

I took my time to study her as she worked on getting her breathing back to normal. She was a lot different from the girl I remembered. The skin in her face was stretched over the bone, missing its flush color. It looked almost translucent. Her once deep, beautiful chocolate eyes now looked more like shallow mud puddles. The circles under her eyes appeared to be carved into her skin. It was clear she had been broken.

I waited until she was calm to comment on her poor condition. "You look like hell, Bella."

"I drowned today," she reminded me.

She knew that wasn't what I'd meant. "It goes deeper than that. You're a mess."

She flinched. "Look, I'm doing my best."

"What do you mean?"

"It hasn't been easy. I'm working on it."

The crease returned to my forehead. I hated to be proven right on things like this. "I told him," I spoke the words more to myself than to her.

"Alice," she sighed. "What did you think you were going to find? I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes? You know me better than that."

"I do. But I hoped." I knew Bella almost all too well, but could she blame me for hoping for something better for her?

"Then I guess I don't hold the corner on the idiocy market."

The phone rang.

"That has to be Charlie," she staggered to her feet. Her warm soft hand grabbed a hold of mine and she dragged me with her into the kitchen.

"Charlie?" she spoke into the phone.

I could hear the person on the other end, it wasn't Charlie. Bella's next word confirmed that.

"Jake!"

I studied her intently, curious of the affect this Jacob had on her. You didn't need my heightened senses to notice the lift.

But Jacob's voice wasn't pleasant in return, although I understood Bella wasn't the reason.

"I'm fine. I told you that it wasn't—"

Jacob cut her off and in the next moment the line went dead. Bella hung her head back with a sigh. She spoke up at the ceiling, "That's going to be a problem."

I squeezed her hand in comfort; I was the one to take the blame. "They aren't excited I'm here."

Bella brought her head back down again but her chin was kept a teensy bit raised as she answered.

"Not especially. But it's none of their business anyway. "

I couldn't help but smile at her as I wrapped my arm around her. Yep, Bella was definitely a fighter; a fighter and very much still alive, even if it was only an echo of times past. As I kept my arm around her I realized that things had turned out quite differently from what I'd first thought they would. When I'd seen her jump and disappear into darkness I'd assumed the worst. I'd been quick to let my family in on it, because despite what she might think, we hadn't stopped caring for her. Bella was still here and I was the only one who knew. I pondered over these thoughts and when I spoke it was more to myself than anyone else. "So what do we do now? Things to do. Lose ends to tie."

"What things to do?"

I'd almost forgotten that I wasn't alone. I didn't want to upset Bella by telling her what I'd let the others believe, so I chose to say as little as possible. "I don't know for sure… I need to see Carlisle."

I could feel Bella tens up under my arm.

"Could you stay?" she was begging me. "Please? For just a little while. I've missed you so much." Her voice broke.

Great job, Alice, in trying not to upset her I'd done exactly that. I had to tell my family about the big misunderstanding but Bella wasn't asking for much. I owed it to her.

"If you think that's a good idea," I agreed, still torn.

"I do. You can stay here—Charlie would love that." Her face lit up and my mind eased a bit.

"I have a house, Bella." I reminded her.

She nodded but I could see the light in her face falter. I mentally kicked myself.

"Well, I need to go get a suitcase of clothes, at the very least," if I were to stay I would need the props for it.

Bella bubbled over and threw her tiny arms around me. "Alice, you're the best!" The burning in my throat and nose intensified as the scent crashed over me. I could feel her pulse through her skin and the radiating heat. "And I think I'll need to hunt. Immediately."

"Oops," she took a step back which I was grateful for. I eyed her teasingly.

"Can you stay out of trouble for one hour?" my voice was skeptical. When it came to Bell you didn't only have to worry about outer threats, she was the biggest klutz I'd ever laid my eyes on. I held up one finger before she could answer. I closed my eyes and relaxed my face. I concentrated for a few seconds and I saw the rest of Bella's night play out before my eyes. I was glad to be able to see her again, in every way possible. "Yes, you'll be fine. For tonight, anyway." Tomorrow would be an entire new day, and knowing Bella you could never be too certain.

"You'll come back?" she asked me in a small voice.

"I promise—one hour." I looked at her reassuringly, but she glanced at the wall over the kitchen table. I followed her eyes and saw the clock. I laughed before leaning in quickly to kiss her on the cheek. I noticed how her skin turned a lovely pink before I headed out the door, and then I was gone.

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There it is, pls, R&R :)


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